Issues

Underwood..."A Moderate and Fair Democrat for All Coloradans"

I have traveled the State of Colorado talking to Coloradans from every walk of life. I focused on the young, the old, the sick, and the vulnerable. Hardworking families from all around the State want access to opportunities. Rural Coloradans want to feel important, that they matter and count here in this State. As the next Governor of Colorado, I will work hard on these issues and any other issues that should arise during my tenure. These are the issues that Coloradans care about. Even though these are issues that Coloradans want addressed, this section on my website is also about solutions to our current and next challenges that we face. As a leader, I must have solutions ready to solve our challenges. I am ready for the challenge and we will work hard as a team to achieve all of our goals.

I want to work with the Colorado State Legislators on enacting my program, The Colorado Hope Grant Scholarship. The Hope Grant will give high school seniors a goal of free college, from the excess state lottery revenues.

I will repeal Tabor in steps and stages. We have to get rid of the Tabor Amendment, because it is holding our State back financially. How can we improve our roads and infrastructure here in Colorado, when we cannot even keep the much needed tax revenue for these improvements. Lets also properly fund our schools so all of Colorado's kids can have a great education in our great economy. Repealing Tabor will help to make this happen.

Trade is killing our jobs here in America. So many countries have an unfair advantage over our workers and companies based here in the U.S. Its hard to compete when an economic trade system is stacked against you. I want to give the State of Colorado back that advantage through my economic plan and initiative that I call CRUAHMI, the Colorado Rural Urban Agricultural Hemp Manufacturing Initiative. I want Colorado to become an economic leader. Colorado will lead under an Underwood Administration. No one will be left out..and no one will be left behind.

The Problem: Lost jobs in rural and urban Colorado, the need for high paying jobs, and entrepreneurial opportunity for a new multibillion dollar economy and cash crop. Also, the need to reduce environmental short falls of cutting down trees, which takes longer to produce than Industrial Hemp.

The Solution: To create an agricultural and manufacturing initiative that will make Industrial Hemp an exportable cash crop for Colorado, creating jobs in hard hit rural counties. Through this initiative, Colorado will see billions of dollars in new revenue from hemp. This new tax base can help improve our schools, roads, and create more job opportunities, lifting more Coloradans out of poverty.

We must protect undocumented immigrants. We are a country and nation of immigrants. We cannot be a moral society without embracing the world. I will work with the State legislators on my program to allow undocumented immigrants legal status as a state resident through a process.

We live in uncertain times with the Trump Administration trying to repeal Obama Care (The Affordable Health Care Act). This is where I will stand in between the President and the most vulnerable Coloradans who need health care.

What never made sense to me is that when our state legalized recreational marijuana, there was never a bill thereafter to correct nonviolent marijuana convictions for possession. This disportionately affects Rural Coloradans and Communities of Color, where these convictions stigmatizes them and makes it difficult seeking employment. Lets remove these barriers, so all Coloradans can contribute to society.

The Opioid Addiction issue here in Colorado is reaching epidemic proportion. This addiction knows no color, gender, age, or economic class. In 2015, according to statistics, more people died from overdoses (259) then homicides (205) here in the State of Colorado.

Protecting our environment is an important issue for me as the next Governor, and I will work to protect Colorado and all of its' beauty. I will work with both private and public sectors on wind and solar energy initiatives. Climate change is real and we have to preserve our State and planet for the next generation.

It should not be that because your public school is in an affluent neighborhood that you have more resources for programs and education than someone who is not. This is where rural and urban Coloradans get left behind. We cannot allow this to continue here in Colorado.

Campus rape is a serious crime all over the United States. I stand with the victims of these horrible acts and will work with State Legislators to toughen laws on this issue. I will also work with colleges and universities here in Colorado to have a uniform policy when dealing with this serious crime.